


Bouquet of Roses

by Raya_Varran



Category: Supernatural
Genre: (Lisa Ben and a great portion of Cas his family in the beginning), (off screen but it is mentioned a lot), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Child Death, F/M, Family Member Death, Hurt Castiel, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, John Winchester Being an Asshole, Little bit of graphic injuries, M/M, Omega Castiel/Alpha Dean Winchester, Post-War, Slave Castiel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-16
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2019-08-03 02:09:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16317131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raya_Varran/pseuds/Raya_Varran
Summary: The war is over. Winchester has won.Prince Dean lost his omega and son and King John thinks he knows just the thing to cheer him up.Prince Castiel lost his entire family and freedom within one day.





	1. Chapter 1

"The war's over, Lis. We won. The last documents have been signed and their subjects are our subjects as well now. We have a lot to rebuild, Heaven as well as Winchester…”

Prince Dean smiled solemnly.

“The library in your hometown is still intact. They haven't touched it at all. The Western Palace is completely destroyed though, but at least Jess survived."

Dean looked back at the palace through the secluding trees of the garden. This used to be their favorite spot. Dean and Lisa could sit and watch Ben play. The little boy would play with wooden swords and challenge his daddy for fights, which the toddler would always miraculously win. They would stay there the entire day. Sam and Jess would have lunch with them there. They would get servants to bring them lunch and dinner. They would look for frogs and tadpoles in the small pond until Dean would have to light a lantern to see anything.

Their winter palace was bombed by the Angels, so they had to stay in the summer palace for now. Dean had never seen his happy place so gloomy, so he walked away from it through the soggy ground to a place deeper into the garden. He was used to the silence by now, so he continued talking. He knew she wouldn’t answer.

"Sam and Jess have shown the public today that she’s pregnant. Dad's still parading through the countries- uh, country.”

He scoffed. “Feels so weird to say that. Apparently, we now have twice the land. I think dad made too many enemies with this war, so I’ll have to go back to being a public figure again. Gonna be king after all. I’m not sure I’m ready for that though. Not sure the public is ready to either.”

He looked down at the bouquet in his hand. I was small. Just a few red roses, but he knew that she wasn’t a flower person. Ben liked the way they smelled though, like his mom. Sometimes Dean would just get them roses so Ben’s entire room smelled like her. It would keep him asleep at night. 

"Bobby keeps telling me that I have to show my face to the public again. And I understand. I've heard rumors about me being dead. And I guess they're right. If I hadn't been a public figure I definitely would've been already, I know that much."

He feels guilty for telling the truth. He hadn't even told Sam yet and he wasn't planning to, but he knew he didn't need to either. Sam knew how hurt Dean was. Their father had grieved for only one day, before returning to showing off his victory to the people. Sam had mourned with his brother. He and Jess had helped him organize the funeral. Jess had invited several therapists and doctors to help Dean. Even Bobby, the least touchy-feely person of them all gave him a shoulder to cry on. And crying he did. Crying and hiding, until guilt overtook and forced him to go outside and face the music.

"They told me what I feel is typical for a grieving alpha and that I'll get through it. That I have to be there for Sam and Jess and for the baby. That they'll need me. That I should try to be happy for them to forget about you."

A lump formed in his throat.

"Of course I'm happy for them. I'm going to be an uncle. I just... I just can't be happy now. Not without you. I miss you. Both of you. How could I ever forget about you? I just can't. I miss your smiles. I miss the nightly cuddles because you can't sleep. I miss your smells in my life."

He stopped walking when he stood in front of the grave. Ben had never left Lisa's side in life, so they were buried together. It had been Dean's request. He knew it would be dark down there and Ben had been very scared of the dark. Lisa was very good at soothing his fears. He knelt in front of them as the rain started to fall.

He barely got out the next words as he laid the flowers on their graves.

"It's getting fainter and fainter every day... I'm losing you again every day. I'm the only one who gets to come in there and still you're leaving again."

He briefly wondered if Lisa would be afraid of the dark as well. After all, Dean wasn't there to protect her.

He couldn't talk anymore. Sobs were leaving his throat. It had been six months since he learned about her death. Every few days he'd come here to talk. Mostly he would stay in sight of the palace, so the staff can keep an eye on him. They took any knives or sharp object away from him. He never saw them, but every now and then, somebody was checking in on him. He wouldn’t let any alphas or omegas into his wing of the palace as their smell was too strong. Not even Sam was allowed there.

But Sam always seemed to know he was here as an umbrella suddenly shielded him from the rain again.

“Come back inside, Dean. You’ll catch a cold.” said the soft and sad voice of his brother.

“But what if Lisa is afraid of the dark?”

He couldn’t look up. Not yet.

Dean heard Sam sigh. “You gave Ben a candle and a matchbox, remember? He’ll share it with Lisa.”

Dean stood up. They’d had conversations like this since the burial seven months ago. Dean would be worried about Ben and Lisa and sit here, no matter the weather, and Sam would offer a solution. He’d never told him “It’s what Lisa would’ve wanted”, it was never “You’ve grieved for long enough”. He would just give Dean a simple solution and urge him to go inside. It didn’t always work, but today it did.

Dean stood up and followed Sam inside. He went to his wing first, because he was soaked. Servants had lit the fires and they had handed Dean dry clothes which he promptly changed into when he was alone in his room. He resisted going to Lisa’s part of the closet this time and immediately returned to Sam’s wing.

Sam, who was already happy that Dean was inside again, got even happier when Dean asked if he could eat with him and Jess tonight.

In preparation Sam quickly send every unmated omega away, while his brother was sitting by the fire with Jess. Dean felt unnerved by most omegas, but Jess' smell didn't bother him. The omega had needed some time to heal from the explosion that had killed her nephew and sister-in-law. You could barely see the scars anymore, but to make sure Dean didn't freak out again, she wore long sleeves to hide the burn scars.

They sat at the somewhat smaller round table while enjoying a meal and wine. For every glass Jess couldn’t drink, Dean had two. He did it while the couple was looking at each other though, so they wouldn't notice. The smell of family was around him and with the buzz of alcohol he almost felt a little happy again. No nasty thoughts of what wasn’t waiting for him when he returned to his wing, no nasty and confusing smells of alphas and omegas around.

Alphas were forbidden in Sam’s wing for an entirely different reason. Jess had ordered any alpha stay out because Sam tended to get very protective of his pregnant wife. It resulted in fun times for them more often than not, but it wasn’t like they had time for that all day. They had to rebuild the morale of the conjoined countries after all.

Dean was the only alpha allowed there. Dean’s scent hadn't had any dominance left. It all had gone when he was so brutally forced to say goodbye to his omega and child, which was easier to forget with every swig of wine he drunk. They had hidden any other form of alcohol from him, so he wouldn't drink himself to death.

It wasn’t until after the sun had been away for several hours that Dean stumbled back to his wing. He was sure he heard Sam mumble that he didn’t know Dean had drunk that much and that he was sorry, but Dean just hugged him and said he was awesome.

He was so ready to pass out on his bed when he entered his room. He smelled more omega than usual. 

Lisa? How-?

His eyes fell on a figure on the bed.

Pale, thin and with raven black hair, dressed in lingerie and jewels.

Not Lisa.

Scared and shivering, stinking up the whole place and so removing Lisa and Ben from the room.

Dean knew exactly what this was.

This was a gift to help him get over Lisa and Ben.

It was a bloody war price.

Dean felt a growl come up.

“Get. Out.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I should probably wait a couple of days, so a satisfying posting schedule would appear, but comments are like heroin and I need a shot right now.

 

 

Prince Castiel wished he was dead. He wished they had killed him as well when the Winchester army had stormed Heaven’s palace. He wished he had died together with his family. He had heard tales of the disgusting behavior of the high ranking alphas of Winchester. How he wished that they were just tales.

Before King John had declared war on Heaven, Castiel’s future had been laid out for him.

He would marry the duke of Celine, his childhood friend Balthazar. He would help young children, maybe open a hospital or orphanage. He would help his cousins and sisters with raising their children as he could not bear any himself. Happy marriage, happy family, happy life.

King John declared war. Castiel was pulled to the table. His brothers and alpha sisters joined the military, so he was responsible for the homefront. Giving out rations, boosting peoples moras, being a beacon of hope.

The first day after the winter solstice everything changed.

He and five of his siblings had been in a heated discussion. Hester and Nathaniel had plans about stopping giving food to the poor, so they could save more for the rich that funded this war. Castiel and his twin Hannah had gotten angry about it, firmly stating that they would not withhold rations from their citizens. He would never find out who’s Inias and Ion were on because a bomb went off in the room. He heard his baby brothers yell and that was that. A grey smoke filled the room as he crawled away in search for a wall for guidance, but before he could find a wall, he found his twin sister on the ground, bleeding from her head. Through the smoke, Castiel dragged Hannah to breathable air. He heard people running and people shooting.

“Cassie! Over here!” Hester had shouted at him from a door at the other end of the short hallway. Castiel felt a relief when he saw his beta sister alive. They disagreed on a lot, but he was still his brother. The omega was on his way to safety, with his unconscious sister in his arms, when Hester got shot in the back of her head. Castiel watched as she hit the ground, blood and brains flying everywhere. He turned around and started running as fast as he could. To his horror, he had to run past Nathaniel’s lifeless body.

Somehow he managed to get outside through the servants’ hallways, but enemy soldiers were all around.

He hid in the bushes, begging his sister to breathe again.

She didn’t. She turned cold. In one day he’d lost four out of 11 siblings. 

An intense feeling of grief overcame him as he closed her eyes. The pungent smell of grief was probably what gave away his location, because within a minute they had found him.

When the Winchester soldiers found him, he looked straight into the barrel pointed at him. If they were going to shoot him, he wouldn’t be cowering.

 

How he wished they’d shot him. Half a second before the trigger was pulled, they smelled he was an omega.

“I think we can do something way better than shooting you.” said a nasal voice that would later become his living nightmare.

He tried to run, but they easily caught him. They brought him back inside to the throne room where King John sat in King Charles’ place.

“You’re the only descendant of King Charles left, Castiel. I have plans for you. Be grateful. You could be way worse off.”

Castiel felt anything but grateful as they undressed him, blindfolded him and made him walk in King John’s parades as some sort of war price, some sort of sex slave. The parades would only happen after dark in the cold and damp evenings.

Sometimes they would dress him up in jewelry that had been promised to his sisters and lingerie that made him feel more naked than when he had to appear to the public in the nude. Sometimes he had to walk. Sometimes he had to sit and be ridden around.

Often he was gagged as well. Late at night, after every alpha had seen him exposed and embarrassed and spat and pissed on -he hoped it was just spit and piss- he was returned to his cage on wheels, where he was washed and cleaned, ready for the next parade.

The man who had found him in the bushes traveled with him and taught him “how to be a proper Winchester Omega”. 

Castiel had known that people could be cruel. He had only just realized that cruelty mixed with creativity was even worse.

He saw Alistair would love to take his virginity as he groped and threatened, but that Alistair was not allowed to. Castiel knew that made alpha angry. 

That didn’t stop Alistair from forcing the omega to suck his cock though. His cock and anyone’s who paid enough. The first time it was forced in he was wearing a ring gag. The stupidly forgot to tie him up and so Castiel broke Alistair’s arm. They started withholding food from him after that.

 

Castiel had always prided himself on being stronger and taller than the average omega and now they would take that away from him as well. Slowly but surely he lost his muscle and fat until he could easily count his ribs. Alistair made him beg for his food, and when it didn’t happen exactly the way he wanted all Castiel got was a cock in his mouth. His sleep was disturbed by dreams and the smell of an irritated alpha was enough to panic him. 

The worst of all was the heckling of the public. Rotten fruit and vegetables being thrown at him. Castiel wouldn’t know where he was, but he would always hear them yelling and accusing.

Traitor. Whore. 

Cumbucket. Slut. Knothole.

Those were his names now. He has the scars to prove it from when he disagreed.

“What’s your name?” Alistair would ask.

Castiel was too scared to disobey by now. “Whore...”

A good answer would get him less torture.

 

He hated the dark. He hadn’t seen sunlight in such a long time. The only way to keep track was with the scars on his body.

 

The fights now occurred rarely. Castiel noticed that Alistair would let fewer strangers fuck his mouth now. They gave his fresh fruit. Fresh water. 

They died his hair darker as well and with his sun depleted skin a Snow White effect came to be. Castiel realized they were preparing him when they started shaving him. The plan that King John was talking about

Days began to blur. He was so tired. 

 

It was evening again. He wore a new set of red lingerie, his mother’s jewelry and a thick layer of make-up to his bruises and whatnot.

They told him to sit on the bed. When did he arrive at this mansion? He didn’t remember traveling here. It was luxurious. Maybe a palace? Even though the temperature seemed decent, he was shivering. He didn’t know if it was because of fear or that he just couldn’t feel the cold anymore. Everything was foggy. He got some hints of omega from the corner of the room where an apparent walk-in closet was, but it mostly smelled like a grieving alpha. Upset alpha. 

Castiel wasn’t sure what to make of that. How long was the alpha grieving? A grieving alpha would never have sex with a different omega so soon. Right? It was instinct. Right?

But he ordered Castiel here? Why would he want a new omega here if he was still grieving? Was it social norms and not instinct? The fires were on, but Castiel felt them diminishing quickly. Where were the servants who tended to the fires? 

The night stretched on. Cas sat still the entire time, fighting against unconsciousness and total panic.

He shot up as he heard steps down the hallway. The door opened and the fresh smell of alpha filled the room. Castiel couldn’t help the tears that were running down his cheeks.

But before he could do something, the alpha looked at him in anger.

“Get. Out.” he said.

Wait, what?

Castiel was trembling now. “Sorry?”

The alpha marched up to him and pulled him off the bed. The omega would’ve fallen if the alpha wouldn’t have held his arm so tightly. He was taken to a different room, a different bed. Castiel immediately recognized it as a servant’s room. There was a bed, a sink… A floor.

He almost fell. The alpha caught him just in time.

He vaguely heard him say something. “Too wasted for this.”

Castiel tried balancing himself as the alpha maneuvered him to the bed.

“Go to sleep. I’ll deal with you in the morning.”

Deal with him? What?

The adrenaline seemed to wear off after he heard that he would not be used until tomorrow and he lost consciousness.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CAS GETS TAKEN CARE OFF

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: this story won't be historically accurate  
> also me: when was night clothing invented
> 
> Guys, this story takes time in a sort of Victorian era with modern things, like lingerie, modern hygiene, modern painkillers and other stuff that I'll specify when I shouldn't be sleeping.  
> ENJOY

Dean cursed when the omega fainted in his arms.

He needed… Fuck. He needed someone to help him. Where were the servants?

He lifted the omega onto the bed and walked away from the room.

“Guys?”

No answer. He went down the stairs.

“GUYS??!!?” he tried again.

It took him several minutes to remember he had sent them all home on paid vacation. Seemed like a good idea at the time...

“Fuck.” he said to no one in particular, “What to do… What to do…”

Suddenly he knew. Charlie!

She was an orphan who was lucky to get off of the streets and become a maid. She was only 14 when she joined and the brother’s quickly formed a bond. Her being two years younger than Sam wasn’t a problem. She had already been a tough girl at the time, but being able to take care of herself had been proven useless when she had shown up at work with a black eye. Charlie had explained that someone had stolen her salary when she had gone shopping for groceries. Dean had come up with the idea of letting her stay inside the young brother’s wing, which was where Sam and Jess lived now. Bobby was their mentor and housemaster and the only one immune to Sam’s puppy eyes. Luckily for them, Bobby was already fond of the red-haired rebel and he let her move into the Brother’s wing. Charlie was familiar with drugs and first-aid so Bobby got her an apprenticeship with the Duchess of Luyten, Rowena MacLeod, who was a healer. Now she was basically their equal.

Dean sneaked back to Sam’s wing. He thought he was sneaking anyway. No one was in his wing but the omega and himself. Charlie’s room was very close to the door that separated Dean’s part of the palace from Sam’s. At her door, he forgot about being quiet as he began knocking loudly. Charlie quickly appeared at the door.

“Dean? Is something wrong?”

Dean groaned. “I need your help.”

Charlie had had a fun day off. She got to use some of the palace’s luxurious bathroom facilities, she got to read some Mary Shelley. It all was comfortable and nice.

Rowena had been very pleased with her progress and had very graciously given her a day off from work. Those were Rowena’s words. Charlie knew that she was concerned. Everyone was worried about Dean, but Charlie’s worry often manifested in insomnia. What made it worse sometimes was when she and Dean would talk at night. He would share things he could only share with her. Dean would cry and then apologize. She would tell him that he didn’t have to, because he used to comfort her after nightmares as well years ago. 

Charlie regarded him warily, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. He had appeared at her doorstep often enough now that she knew that just humoring him calmed him down. That being said, it had been raining since the beginning of the evening and she refused to go outside again.

Dean anxiously waited for her to grab her robe. 

“I rather not go outside tonight, Dean.” she said as she closed the door behind her.

“Just my wing.” he mumbled in response.

They disappeared into Dean’s wing.

“Another nightmare?” she asked on their way to Dean’s room. He shook his head.

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it slightly. He was extremely tense and he had to use her as support to walk.

“You promised me you’d go easy on the drinks.” she said as they were walking up the stairs.

“You weren’t supposed to find out.” he slurred

“That doesn’t make it any better. You came to my room, though. Why?”

Dean kept quiet until they reached the top of the stairs.

“I’ve got an omega slave.” He mumbled.

“What the fuck.”

“Yeah, he’s like- half dead… Or on drugs.”

“Shit…”

They got to the room that Dean had put the omega in. Dean opened the door to show Charlie the sleeping man. Charlie smelled his fear immediately even when asleep. He stirred when she smelled his neck, but he didn’t move away.

“He doesn’t have a chemical smell and he doesn’t smell like any drug I know. I think he’s just really tired.” she declared. After that Charlie checked the rest of his frail body, but only found bruises, badly concealed with make-up.

“Maybe he’s hungry.” Dean muttered. The omega seemed very thin indeed.

“I’ll get him some food. You should go to bed though.”

“What about you?”

She smiled at him.  “I’ll be fine. Just go the fuck to sleep, okay?”

He nodded vaguely and stepped out of the doorframe.

“Alrighty then. Let’s get to work.” she mumbled to herself.

 

She began by going to the kitchen and gathering some supplies and food for the guy. When she returned he was still asleep.

First, she removed the jewelry and then she used a warm washcloth to remove the make-up from his bruises. There were some cuts and burns that she should disinfect as well. 

 

He woke up when the smell of iodine filled the room. He shot up and couldn’t seem to move away from her fast enough.

Shielding his face with his hands from her he began begging. “Please! Please, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to pass out!”

She tried calming him down by touching him, but apparently, that was a Dean only thing, as the omega moved away from her when she reached for him.

No touching. Okay.

“You’re at the Summer Palace in Winchester.” she told the trembling omega.

That seemed to ring a bell. Maybe it was better if she got to know him first.

“What’s your name?” she tried. 

Wrong question. The wrongest wrong question to have ever been questioned. The omega began  _ sobbing _ . Charlie just stood there for a moment unsure what to do, when the omega’s stomach growled again.

Ah, hunger. Now she knew how to fix that.

“Uh, hey… I got you something to eat…” Charlie hesitantly.

He responded by looking up in fear and confusion, but his eyes lit up when he saw the food. It was some yogurt, cheese, and bread. She also got him water and two apples. He handled the bowl and spoon she gave him with great care as he began eating.

“I got you a washcloth if you want to get the stuff off of your face. Your tap doesn’t have warm water, but I got you a kettle of warm water if you need some.”

“Thank you…” he rasped.

She smiled. “Imma get you something to wear.”

He looked ashamed again, but he seemed too happy with the food to really drown in the shame.

When she returned with clothes, he had finished the yogurt and the bread. He longingly looked at the apples, but he was already full. Charlie knew what it was like to eat after a long period of not eating.

“You can keep the rest in your room, so you can eat again in a few hours.”

“Thank you.” he said again.

She didn’t push him for a name again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hOLY SHIT CASS AND DEAN TALK+ ROWENA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cas has flashbacks to Alistair. JUst FYI. Don't wanna trigger anyone. If you don't want to read it (it very short) you stop at "Castiel hated..." and begin at "Suddenly there was"  
> Okidoki. Y'all really seem to like this one, so I put it on top of my priority list. That's a lie. I just got more inspiration for this one.

Dean woke up when the first rays of sunshine fell through the window on his face. Like liquid gold, the light woke up the world. Outside the animals came out of their nests and holes. A songbird decided to have Dean join in on its musical morning routine.

He threw a pillow at the window to scare the bird away. Pleased that it worked, he fell asleep again.

Dean woke up again much later. As he sat up in bed, the previous night slowly started to come back to him.

Having dinner with Sam, going back to his room, the omega in his bed, getting Charlie to take care of him, going back to his room, falling asleep with his clothes on…

He could still smell the omega’s fear. Dean groaned.

Why was he given a slave? He doesn’t have time for him. He certainly doesn’t need him. He’s going to want attention and-

A knock on the door. Or maybe a second knock if the first one was what woke him.

“Oh, your Majesty!”

Ugh, that was Rowena. Dean hated it when they referred to him by his title.

“Coming!” he yelled back.

He got out of bed, trudged up to the door and opened it.

Rowena smiled and handed him a glass of water and some medicine.

“Charlie told me you would be hurting, so I gathered my best medicine to cure Your Majesty’s migraine.” she said, eyes twinkling. She was the only one who still acted as if nothing happened and Dean could appreciate that. Sam had stopped messing with him and Charlie handled him with care, but Rowena was the only one who still let him have it. In her eyes, he was still the “spoiled little prince” he was before the war. Dean often suspected it was because of her own tragic backstory, but she wouldn’t talk about her personal life. 

“Thanks, Rowena.” He mumbled as he gulped it down.

He couldn’t stand her at first, but considering she let him live in the fantasy of “nothing happened” he started to like her. The only times when he noticed that something had changed was when he said her first name.

It always just slipped out of him, even before he lost them, but lately, she’s reacting differently to it. Maybe they were becoming friends.

“How’s Charlie?” he asked.

“She’s fine. Asleep in her bed.”

“Good…”

She frowned as if in disapproval.

“You should visit the poor omega, Dean.”

Dean forgot how direct she could be.

“Why? He was fine, right?” he said, though he didn’t mean to sound that defensive.

She almost rolled her eyes.

“Well, I can only assume he’s going to want answers.”

“Can’t somebody else do that?” he immediately snapped.

“No.”

He tried not to lose his posterior of “angry alpha” but Rowena cut straight to it with the meanest jab she could find.

“Lisa would’ve.”

He slammed the door in her face.

Dean found himself at the door to the garden again.  He had had his hand on the knob for several minutes when he smelled a familiar beta.

“What are you doing, boy?”

It was Bobby.

“I- I don’t know…”

A sigh and suddenly he was being hugged.

“I know you’re hurting, Dean, and your daddy ain’t exactly the smartest guy, but you gotta let them go at some point.”

Dean tightened his arms around the man. He was crying again.

“You gotta let us help you. If you keep insisting on keeping their smell in your room, you’re gonna go mad. And you’re not the only one who’s hurting. We all need you. You don’t have to forget about them. Nobody is telling you to forget about them. What Rowena said was a mean move and she shouldn’t have done that, but she’s right about one thing and I think you know it too.”

The two men were quiet for a couple of minutes. The only sounds were Dean’s sniffling. When that stopped they let go.

“Imma go…” Dean mumbled, finishing his sentence by pointing in the direction of his wing.

“You do that.”

Castiel hated how dark his room was. He expected to see Alistair in every corner.

“Time for a show, pet. Let’s get you ready.” In that weird nasally voice was echoing through his head.

It got louder and louder, until he felt like he was back in the cage. The blanket turned into hands restricting him.

He wouldn’t cry this time. Not this time.

“Goddamn, you’re pretty now, aren’t you? All hairless and oiled up. Are you hungry, pet?”

Not again. Not again.

Fuck, he started crying.

“You’re so pretty when you cry, pet. I’ll fuck your mouth until you’re weeping.”

He was screaming now.

The smell of another alpha got him panicking even more.

Suddenly there was light.

The other alpha was his master.

Alistair was never there. The other alpha walked up to his bed.

Fuck. Had he decided that he wanted to use him now? No, please not. He wasn’t strong enough to fight back again. 

“You okay there?” the alpha asked.

“Were you too drunk last night?” Castiel retorted. He immediately cringed. He should know better than to talk back to his master.

The alpha sat down on the bed. He looked very ill. He smelled upset, but it was the same kind of distant upset that Castiel smelled last night. Maybe it’s the default?

“Too drunk for what?” he asked, “to take care of you?”

“To use me.” Castiel clarified. Then he hastily added “Master.”

The alpha scoffed. “Don’t wanna fucking use you. And don’t call me master.”

He looked sad. “I’d prefer you call me Dean.”

But Castiel belonged to King John, and only King John could give him away. And King John had a son named Dean. Dean was the terrifying Prince that Michael was battling against. 

 

Winchester and Heaven had always hated each other. They’d made amends back when Queen Mary was still alive, but rumors told that her death turned King John cruel. Michael had written home about the prince. His words came down to “like father like son”, bu tin the end it hadn’t been Dean who killed Michael. Did he know that his enemy’s brother was sitting next to him?

 

The prince frowned at the floor and then as if remembering something he asked:

“What’s your name?”

 

No, apparently not. Better not tell him either. What if he was as cruel as Alistair? Castiel couldn’t risk it.

But his name… Dean didn’t seem to like being called master, so maybe he didn’t want to call Castiel Whore either.

 

“You can call me whatever you like.”

“I wanna call you by your name.”

“I don’t have one.” Castiel quickly made up. Slavery was still legal in Winchester. There are slave traders who specialize in sexual slavery in his country. He could see in the mirror that he barely resembled his old self and if he played it right he could remain in the shadows and escape from there. He could maybe move to purgatory, but that was for later.

“I was born into slavery.”

Dean huffed. “Sorry, that must suck.”

“It does.” Castiel said grimly. He could imagine that.

The prince covered his eyes and groaned. “Wrong choice of words. I’m sorry.”

He hadn’t even noticed his double entendre.

“What are you planning to use me for?”

“Dunno yet. When’s your next heat?”

Castiel shivered. “I don’t know. I should’ve had one maybe a couple of months ago. Stress, I think.”

So Dean  _ was  _ planning on using him.

“If there’s anything I can do for you, let me know.” The prince offered.

So he was going to be that kind of pet now? Abused, but cherished?

“I- I’d-  __The- The darkness is kind of getting to me.”

The alpha stood up. “I’ll see what I can do. I’ll get you some candles for now.”

And with that, he left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TALKY TALKY DESTIEL+ PLOT I GUESS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for keeping you waiting. Enjoy!

Dean walked back from the linen closet where he always kept his extra candles and matchboxes. He ignored the faint smell of roses on the linen, reminding him of his son’s favorite hiding place when playing Hide and Seek. The hallway was bright lit by the afternoon sun. Dean could see the stalls from here.

A pang of sadness and guilt came over him. He was going to teach Ben how to ride a horse. Baby was probably wondering where he was.

Dean shook his head. Not now. Candles. The omega is afraid in the dark.

Dean had no idea what the omega had gone through, but he could guess.

When John’s father had concurred Hell, the demons introduced slavery. The people of Winchester screamed for it to be gone, but the royals from Hell funded a big part of the upcoming war against Heaven, so John chose the side of the royals instead of his people.

For years Dean, his brother, and their wives had fought slavery in Winchester. Now there are certain safety rules to protect slaves. Slavers aren’t allowed to let their slaves work more than 18 hours a day, slavers are not allowed to brand their slaves anymore, sex slaves will first be checked if they’re not actually missing people and are not allowed to be “made” anymore, etcetera. Unfortunately, they weren’t as far as making slavery illegal, but that would change as soon as one of the Princes take the throne.

 

He arrived at the slave’s room.

He knocked twice. “You decent? Can I come in?”

“Yes.” Came the faint answer.

Dean walked in. The slave was on the bed. The clothes that he was wearing seemed a bit too big. The omega had draped a bedsheet around himself. 

Pillowfords with Lisa and Ben- Not now!

He put one candle on the candleholder on his nightstand and placed the rest of the candles on the desk. The matches he placed on the nightstand as well.

The slave nodded and then shivered.

“You cold?”

“I’m fine.”

Dean ignored that, considering the omega’s condition.

“I think the fireplace in the living room is lit. Let’s go there.”

The omega stood up, but almost lost his balance immediately. Dean caught him an noticed how tense he was.

“Can you walk?”

The omega nodded, so they left for the living room.

Bobby, Jess, and Charlie were sitting in their living room. Jess was pretending to read the newspaper. Bobby and Charlie were talking, so it wasn’t like she could focus anyway.

“Do you think the omega is okay?” Charlie asked.

“If Dean knows one thing, it’s how to take care of others.” Bobby said.

“Rowena wasn’t so sure.”

“Rowena doesn’t know him like I do.”

“Bobby, I saw the poor thing last night. He was so scared! Plus, with Dean’s No Omegas Allowed policy?”

Silence.

Jess was getting tired from hearing the same conversation over and over again. It had begun early in the morning when Bobby went to check on the omega and came back telling everyone that he was still asleep. Bobby had just left some more food for him and left.

Charlie and Sam had bombarded the man with questions like “How did he smell?”, “Are you sure he is asleep?” and “Did the omega eat all his food from last night yet?”. Eventually, Jess got up and asked Rowena to check on both the omega and Dean. Sam had wanted to interject, knowing that Rowena didn’t seem to care that Dean had lost so much, but Jess nor Rowena listened. When Rowena returned, Bobby immediately noticed the smell of angry Dean on her, so he immediately went looking for him. When someone was mourning their smell was twice as strong when they were upset and the smell wouldn’t just stick to what and who they touched, but also to what or who was around them. It was a sort of natural –but involuntary- distress signal.

And speaking of distress.

“Sam’s coming back and he’s pissed.” Jess warned. The betas braced themselves and three seconds later they smelled the angry alpha coming around the corner. Charlie quickly helped Jess up.

Just in time, she went to stand close to the door, because Sam walked in. He spotted his wife and immediately embraced her and drove his nose into her neck. It was a little dominant, but by now she was used to it. Even though Jess didn’t care, Sam would apologize for it later, ashamed for acting that way. Jess never minded, when Sam was like that, because the more he gave in to his instincts, the easier it was to calm him down. Sam often overdid the “we are not beasts”-part and forgot that he was also just a human with emotions.

“Shall we sit down, Alpha?”

Sam nodded, but didn’t move.

Jess pet his back until he was calm enough to sit him down on the couch.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, until Sam decided he was going to overthink everything again.

“Dad’s coming home.” Sam groaned.

A twin “oh no” was said by the two women. Bobby groaned too.

Dean realized “living room” was the wrong word to use. The room was anything but lived. Everything was clean and dusted, but no smells remained. No one, but the cleaning staff had been here since… Well, since they died.

They were sitting five feet apart on the couch. A table separated them from the hearth. The slave’s eyes were transfixed on the flames. He looked at it like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

“I’m sorry if I acted like a dick yesterday.” Dean said, snapping the omega out of his haze.

“It’s alright. You were intoxicated. I’ve had worse drunks to deal with. You gave me a room and got someone to help me out, because you probably realized you couldn’t do it yourself. It was really nice of you. Others might have molested me, or worse.”

If his heart wasn’t shattered already, it would’ve broken again.

“I’m sorry. Have other owners done that to you?”

Dean hated himself for saying that, because it implied that he owned the poor guy.

“You’re my first.”

“But you’re…”                                            

So damaged already? In such poor condition?

Dean didn’t know how to end that sentence. All he could think of was that they scammed his dad and marketed this poor man as a well-trained sex slave, worthy of a Prince. Dean had had slave traders come up to him, trying to sell their merchandise, even before he met Lisa.

Dean never wanted a slave, how badly his father wanted to show off his victory to the world, he had probably just taken the first omega slave offered.

“No offense, I’ve seen a lot of slaves. You know, lot’s of traders come by and you are way too… I don’t why someone would buy you and-”

 

That was the stupidest thing he could’ve said.

The sour smell of panicked omega permeated the air and Dean turned his head to apologize.

Within a second, the slave had dropped the bed sheet and climbed into Dean’s lap, which caused Dean to panic and he pushed the omega off.

Onto the floor.

Dean’s “Shit, I’m sorry!” fell to deaf ears as the crying omega clung to Dean’s knees and started begging.

“Please, don’t sell me, alpha!”

“I wasn’t planning on-”

“I was so lucky that you didn’t rape me on the spot!”

Dean tried to touch the man, but it only made him more afraid.

“I would never-”

“Please, don’t sell me!”

Dean tried “I’m not gonna sell you!” again, but the omega was too panicky to listen. As the smaller man’s tears wet his knees, Dean remembered the abandoned bed sheet. He leaned over to grab it and draped it around the shivering omega.

The tears turned into soft sniffles, but the omega still seemed too mortified to move.

The omega moved away when Dean tried to touch his head again.

“I’m not gonna sell you. Don’t be afraid of that.” Dean said softly.

The omega squeezed his knee.

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

It took a while, but the omega squeezed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's getting an extra 300 words? You are!

It took Castiel a long time until he could get up. He kept repeating Dean’s words over and over again, as if saying it more often would make them more true. He eventually let go of Dean’s legs and sat back on his calves. He noticed Dean leaning forward, but didn’t dare to look up.

“I won’t sell you.”

Castiel nodded. Those words might not even be true. The tone was supposed to put him at ease, like you would do to calm down a startled horse.

“Okay” Castiel managed to say.

Dean smelled calmer after what Castiel said. Maybe he saw it as a sign of trust from the former prince.  

Castiel didn’t trust Dean. Just half a year ago they were enemies.

Having Dean, who fought a war against Heaven, know who he is… was? That would be a recipe for disaster.

What if he put more guards on him?

What if he decided to take revenge on Castiel Heaven had done against Winchester, against his family?

What if Dean didn’t want him because of that and he got sold to someone else?

Castiel got up and sat down on the couch again, pulling the bedsheet like a shield around him. Dean acted as if he would protect him. Castiel couldn’t trust that.

The silence that followed was awkward as they stared into the flames. Dean seemed prepared to start a conversation a couple of times, but thought the better of it, so the silence continued.

“Can I ask you a question?” Dean muttered after a while, probably unsure if he could ask it at all. His tone gave Castiel warning enough and he braced himself after saying “Sure.”.

“When were you made?”

_ Made. _ To make someone. To turn someone into a slave.

Castiel didn’t say anything immediately.

“Nevermind. Stupid question.”

He heard Dean say ”Sorry” and automatically responded with “It’s okay.”, like Dean had any right to ask him anything. All he needed Dean to do right now was to act like his master. Dean seemed reasonable, maybe not as cruel as Alistair after all. Dean probably only wanted him during his heat. Castiel could do that. He just had to stick around long enough until an opportunity arose so he could escape. Dean looked like a guy who needed a therapy pet, and he could do that.

Castiel looks down in shame for how far he had fallen. That he was actually considering to let a strange Alpha anywhere near him during his heat and treat him like an animal. He knew he wasn’t made entirely. He remembered Alistair telling him what he will do to break Castiel’s spirit, so he would notice his walls breaking.

There were still walls left though. Taking away the hunger brought back a lot of himself. Not his former self, of course. That person was gone and his past was erased. All that there was left was this little traumatized thing, ready to abandon his values at the first sign of danger.

“Did you have a family?” Dean asked.

Castiel swallowed.

“I don’t wanna answer another question.” he said. He glanced up to see how Dean would react.

Dean didn’t react. Instead, he got this fake smile on his face. Castiel recognized it. How many times had people looked at him like that in the last couple of months and told him he’ll be okay? How many people pitied him without helping him? They smiled at him. A smile that was meant to be encouraging, but it never reached their eyes.

“How about we play a game?” Dean said. Castiel shivered. Maybe Dean didn’t like his answer after all.

Alistair would tell him that they were going to play a game when Castiel did something wrong. Sometimes he’d put him blindfolded in a box in the ground and then left him out in the rain, so the box would get soaked and cold. He would give a knock and tell Castiel that he was gonna leave him there. Other times he’d soak him in some oil and threatened to set him on fire, lighting candles around him, telling him that if he couldn’t stick the dildo in without gagging soon and he would burn to death like his family. “That’s all your good for, doll. Take it like a good bitch.” Sometimes-

A tug on the edge of the bedsheet. Dean looked worried again, but he didn’t try to touch him. Castiel didn’t know what to make of that.

“Was it something I said?”

No, Castiel thought, it wasn’t just you.

“Do you know how to play Oszan?” Dean suddenly asked in a lighter, but seemingly fake, tone.

“No?”

“I’ll teach you.”

Again, Dean decided for Castiel.

He sighed, but nodded, glad to find out Oszan is just a card game.

They played the game for hours. Dean was happy he could distract the slave. Staff came and left the room, seemingly happy to see the prince out of his bedroom. He kind of missed his own staff, but they were still on paid leave, so he had to make do with the people who normally took care of his dad.

Dean and the omega didn’t really talk. The omega never looked him in the eyes and seemed more comfortable when he was as far away as the game allowed. Dean didn’t mind. He explained the history and the rules of the game. Every now and then he would tell something about the artifacts in the room and he would tell the slave where it was from and how it got there. He purposefully avoided talking about the chandelier, given to Winchester by Heaven decades before the war. The slave never looked up higher than eye-level anyway.

“Are you hungry? I think it’s time for dinner.” Dean stated.

The slave looked up with wariness in his eyes. Dean decided to just assume it was something he said again and continued. If the slave saw that he truly meant no harm, he might feel safer around Dean.

“Imma get someone from the staff to get us some food here. You stay here, okay?”

The slave nodded and Dean left for the kitchen.

As it turned out, dinner was already on its way to Dean’s room, so when he met the maid pushing the trolley with food in the hallway he just asked her to bring it to the living room. When he held the door open for her, he noticed Castiel staring at the ceiling- at the chandelier. The slave startled when the trolley rattled in and pulled the bedsheet around him again.

The maid bowed and left, but Dean barely acknowledged her. The omega had tears in his eyes, but they were different from the ones he’d seen before. His face wasn’t as red and his hair wasn’t as wild. These were sad tears.

“Do you wanna know stuff about that one too?” Dean asked carefully, pointing up, but the slave shook his head.

Dean pushed the trolley to stand in front of the couch they were sitting on.

He awkwardly gestured towards the chicken, vegetables, and potatoes.

“Eat up.”

They ate in silence. The slave just loaded up his plate and even got seconds. Dean stared at him when the omega wasn’t looking. Dean imaged that if the man would have had more muscles he could pass for an alpha from a distance with his strong jaw and height. Dean guessed he was about as tall as he was. His jaw looked smooth like a woman’s. The only times Dean had met male omegas in his life were brief, but they were always clean-shaven. He had assumed that they grew as much as alpha and beta men, but always shaved everything off to appear more youthful and pretty. Maybe they just couldn’t grow anything on their chin.

The slave caught him watching. He suddenly looked less hungry. Dean felt guilty, but didn’t say anything about it.

After they both finished Dean suggested that they should go back to their rooms. The omega looked tired and Dean really needed to be back in his bed as well. This whole day had been a storm of emotions and he could only think of one thing to calm himself down.

He helped the omega up and together they walked back to the omega’s room.

He wouldn’t let Dean walk further than the doorstep and Dean was okay with that.

“Let me know if you need me.” he said and closed the door.

He left to his room. Dean was severely disappointed that when he walked in the only omega smell that reached his nostrils was the slave’s and not Lisa’s.

He knew where he could find it though. He walked up to the walk-in closet, but was stopped when he noticed a big black wooden box at the foot of the bed.

Curious and hesitant he kneeled before it and opened it.

Dean immediately slammed it shut again. Half nauseous, he fell back on his ass, trying to control his breath.

The box contained whips, dildos and it also looked like there was some artificial slick in there, like they knew the slave wouldn’t get turned on from just the contents of the box.

There was a note in it as well, but Dean wasn’t in his right mind anymore to read it. He scrambled up and hid in Lisa’s part of the closet, letting her fainting scent calm him down.

Tears were streaming down his cheeks. “What am I supposed to do, Lis?”

He fell asleep at some point, but if it was before or after midnight he didn’t know.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really just wanted to post, so it's a short chapter.  
> BUT I'LL GIVE YOU A MAP OF WINCHESTER.  
> The things on it make more sense as the story progresses.

 

Castiel scares himself awake. It’s dark in his room. He knows there is a candle on his nightstand. Dean put it there before they went to that other room with the chandelier. That chandelier used to be in a pair, but Heaven gave one to Winchester as an _ amica _ , a gift of friendship. Winchester had given beautiful wooden wardrobes to Heaven. One of them stood in Castiel’s room. It had been big enough to hold all his clothes and shoes. He remembered hiding in it as a kid and choosing outfits from it as an adult. He remembered the white blouses with royal blue accents, the navy blue pants, and the occasional dress. He remembered the beige long coat he wore the day they killed-

He needed light. He needed it right now.

Castiel struck a match and lit the candle. Alistair’s phantom threats of setting him on fire almost took over his brain again, but he managed to pull through. He just needed to avoid looking straight at the flame.

He got up from the bed and put on the socks that the alpha prince had given him. He wished he had shoes. If he had shoes then…

What then?

Then if he ran, people would think he was just a normal guy. If he had shoes, he’d be protected from the rough ground when he would escape. If he had shoes he wouldn’t be seen as a runaway slave.

He needed money too. He had his mother’s jewelry. The necklace had very big gemstones. They’d be worth a lot. The jewelry would be small enough to be taken as well.

He opened the closet doors. It was empty. He then checked the closet drawers. Empty again. Maybe he could check if he could open other rooms to see what they held.

Castiel only needed to take one step out of his room to realize how scary it was. What if someone would catch him sneaking about. He can’t have that! They’ll punish him. They’ll punish him severely.

Castiel stepped back into his room, locked the door and crawled under the blankets.

Dean woke up to the smell of his mate. He tried embracing her, but only grabbed a bundle of fabric. Was she already up? He drew the blankets up to his nose. She’ll come back to bed.

He knew why he was crying, but at the moment he refused to admit it.

After a while, Castiel was calm enough to get out of bed again. He took a few deep breaths, before his eyes landed on the desk.

The desk had a few drawers as well. To distract himself, he searched them as well. The first three were empty, but the last one had a book. It was a fairy tale.

“The story of Little Eric, the shepherd.”

Castiel frowned, but continued reading anyway.

“Eric had seven sheep. He loved them all very much. The ram was named Sunday, the eldest sheep was named Monday, the brown sheep was named Tuesday, the grey sheep was named Wednesday, the grey lamb was named Thursday, the most beautiful sheep was named Friday and the most mischievous one was named Saturday.”

Castiel knew this story. His people had a similar story about “Gabriel and his 7 goats”, his brother’s favorite story, because the name of the shepherd was the same as his.

He wondered how Gabriel met his end. Did the execute him? Was Gabriel sold like a slave and did he try to escape? Did they shoot him on sight? What about Balthazar? Oh no, Celine was closer to the border with Winchester than the capital. The message of his death was probably delayed by the incoming troops. The shot him too.

Memories of Bartholomew being shot came back to him. Hannah dying in his arms. Ion laying on the floor.

Castiel tried to make them go away by slamming the book shut, but it created a gush of air, blowing out the candle.

Complete darkness overcame him and Castiel frantically tried to find the matchbox. He did. Now for the candle. Where was it? Castiel felt with his hand and suddenly had his finger dipped in hot wax. He yelped and knocked over the candle spilling the wax in his lap. His pants protected him from the heat, but not from the memories threatening to overtake him if he stayed in the dark.

He struck a match. He almost lit the candle, but because of the tears in his eyes, he misjudged the length of the match, causing it to burn his finger and dropping the match in the puddle of freshly molten candle wax.

The room was dark again.

His finger hurt.

_ You’ll burn like the rest of your family. _

There was no air.

Why can’t I breathe?

_ You’ll breathe when I’ll tell you to breathe. _

Help.

Please.

Charlie.

Gabriel.

Dean.

Anyone.

He passed out.

“Dean!”

“Dean!”

“I warned you, dammit!”

“Stop growling at me and get up.”

Dean didn’t respond. He growled when Bobby would get too close and then continued to hold Lisa’s clothing against his face. Bobby felt real panic coming up.

“Imma go get yer brother.”

Dean didn’t even react.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Badabingbadaboom Heaven and Hell are also part of Winchester, but I still included them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, what kind of heats do you want? Let me know!  
> (You can pick more than one)  
> A> The omega completely loses their mind and all they care about is getting knotted.  
> B> If the omega doesn't get knotted during a severe heat, like what would happen after not being in heat for a year due to stress, they'll die.  
> C> They become cuddle monsters.  
> D> They are lucid, but just very weak.  
> E> They lose a sense of a sense doesn't work as well as it normally does. (sight, hearing, anything but smell)
> 
> These are just a few ideas. It's not gonna happen in the next chapter or the chapter after that, but it's gonna happen and Cass and Dean will not be too happy about it. I just wanna know if you guys want smut and how smutty or angsty you want it, because maybe a heat is all it takes to trigger Dean's rut.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SOME SAMJESS TO DRAW OUT THE SUSPENSION ALSO JOHN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your suggestions and comments!

Sam awaited his father in the grand hall. He was grateful for Jess standing next to him and keeping him calm, even though he knew how nervous John made her.

Ever since the queen died John had been hostile and disapproving of omegas. Sam blames it on the same rich and royals that funded the war to take over Heaven, a mostly liberal country. While omegas there still weren’t allowed in the military and still had to have an Alpha –a spouse, a parent, a sibling or any other familial alpha- they could still choose their own future. They could have jobs, further education, choose their own spouse and be in politics.

Not anymore though. The backwards Kingdom of Winchester rules applied there now. Sam couldn’t wait until he was king and so he could undo all the bullshit.

He remembered talking to Dean about it: their future and their kingdom’s future.

“I can barely lead myself now, Sammy. Let alone an entire kingdom.” Dean had told him.

“But you’ve been training for the throne your entire life, Dean! You can’t just throw that away!”

Dean had looked at the tombstone as if Lisa was sitting there. “I’ve been training my entire life to be dad’s soldier. You’d make a better leader than I would ever be.”

He was the next in line. If Dean didn’t want the throne and to be fair, he couldn’t have the throne, then it was only logical that Sam would take it.

John had suspected that, according to Charlie. She theorized that that was why John had given Dean a slave that was that hungry and scared. Maybe Dean would learn to take care of himself by taking care of the slave. He would learn to take care of himself and so, how to take care of their country.

Sam wished that was true.

The messenger that had announced the King was on his way had also delivered a message to Sam.

A message that only asked if Dean had been in rut yet.

No asking if Dean was okay. No congratulations on the baby.

The only letter they got from John was this one, just before he came back. As if he suddenly remembered that he had sons.

And that one of this was the crown prince.

John wanted a new heir and not one from his most rebellious son. No, he wanted a grandchild from the son who looked at others for guidance. Sam had seen Dean saying yes to medication from doctors that nobody had approved of but John. The medication had only made it worse and if it didn’t work within one week, John would order a different doctor to “make his son functional”. It got so bad that when Jess got her family doctor, who had actually helped grieving people before, Dean freaked out.

Dean would freak out when Sam and Jess tried to get him to talk to psychiatrists, after John had sent too many to pry around his head. They wanted to do well by their king and tried to get Dean to forget Lisa and Ben as soon as possible, going as far as electroshock therapy –a fairly new method that hadn’t been approved by the guilds yet.

Only Rowena was allowed, and only if she brought something to help with the hangovers. Sometimes Sam didn’t even know where he had gotten the alcohol from.

Dean was not okay and his dad didn’t care at all, as long as Dean did what he said.

The couple was waiting for the king in the study. A girl who had probably just reached maturity was kneeling on a pillow. It took all of Sam’s strength not to go sit next to her to piss his father off. He shouldn’t piss the king off. A pissed John would take his rage out on others. It used to be Dean and servants, then Sam, but the poor girl on the pillow would probably take the first hit and they couldn’t have that. Sam had stayed home longer than Dean and John had, so he had started to see the palace as his territory and to just give it back to John, who wouldn’t take care of his pack filled his alpha with rage.

Two lackeys opened the door and bowed. King John walked through without batting them an eye.

“No, Dean isn’t in rut yet.” Sam said instead of a welcome as the door was closed behind his father. He knew he should be nicer, but he couldn’t help himself. He stared right into John’s eyes.

“Traveling was fine, thanks for asking.” John answered, staring back. The staff seemed to get uncomfortable.

“No welcome home party? I’ve been on the road for months, Sammy.”

Jess barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes, but Sam could smell the annoyance on her. This conversation didn’t go as they planned, and it was mostly Sam’s fault right now.

Jess, sensing the explosion that could follow that, cleared her throat.

“There’s dinner tonight at eight pm to celebrate your return. The kitchen has been preparing all day. You can go back to your chambers where lunch and a warm bath await you.”

John looked at her like she had three heads. Then, as if deciding that he was too tired to argue about the fact that she spoke “without permission”, he nodded and the smell disappeared almost entirely.

“I’ll see you at eight then, I presume?” he gruffed.

Sam shrugged. “I guess.”

Back in their living room, Jess exploded.

“For once! Once! Try not to agitate him! I can’t believe it!” Jess was walking back and forth through the room.

Sam was trying to calm her down.

“Jess…” he mumbled, clearly ashamed, but still trying to embrace her. He could feel his instincts acting up, wanted him to show her that he can make her feel better. He ignored most of it, but still moved to take her in his arms.

She pushed him away. “No! Don’t touch me! You’re gonna sit down and listen!”

Sam did. Jess was right after all. They wouldn’t help Dean by fighting the one holding the Crown Prince’s fate. They had to give the impression of working with him, so they could deceive him.

“We’re gonna go to the training grounds where you’re gonna get that aggression out of you. You’re no help to Dean if all you can do is fight. You have to be able to speak for both Dean and me after all. You know that Dean has trouble with conflict and there’s no way that the king will listen to me. I need you to focus and I need you to be calm, understand?”

Sam hung his head. “I’m sorry, Love.”

He didn’t dare to look up until he felt the weight of Jess sitting down next to him.

“We’re gonna kick his ass soon, Sammy, but first we gotta kiss it.”

Sam chuckled and looked up at her. “That’s gross.”

She kissed him. He grinned into the kiss and lifted her into his lap. The kiss soon got heated.

_ Maybe Sam could lose all that Alpha aggression in another way.  _ Jess thought.

“How about we have a little fun before our little prince gets in the way.”

“Don’t you mean princess?” he retorted. She responded by undoing the buttons on his jacket.

“I know what I said.”

She finally got to the last one when somebody knocked on their door. Jess noticed Sam holding back a protective growl.

“Guys?”

It was Bobby. That meant something was wrong. She was already rebuttoning, accompanied with puppy-eyes from Sam, when the beta continued.

“Sam, I don’t care if you two are trying to put more buns in the oven,  but Dean needs your help right now.”

That seemed to put the alpha on alert. He lifted Jess off his lap and walked to the door, closely followed by his wife.

Bobby looked just as worried as he sounded and didn’t even ask them to follow him, they just did.

“What happened?” Sam asked. He felt guilty for entering Dean’s part of the palace without his brother’s permission, but he assumed Bobby wouldn’t overstep Dean’s boundaries if it wasn’t an emergency.

“He’s in Lisa’s closet again, and this time’s he’s too far gone for me to get him out.”

“Didn’t I tell you to-”

“Spare me the _I told you_ _so_ ’s.” Bobby interrupted her, “You can do that when Dean isn’t hallucinating his dead wife.”

“How’s the omega?” Sam asked. Bobby only cursed as if he’d forgotten the poor slave. Jess took pity on him.

“You guys check on Dean. I will check if the omega is okay.”

They nodded and Jess turned away to check on the slave. Who knows how long he had been left alone?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! New chapter! How delightful!
> 
> You can choose to not reread all chapters (bc I updated them all) but there will be inconsistencies.

 

It was the night before Dean would leave to fight a war he didn’t want to fight. Lisa and Dean just made love for one final time about two hours ago, but they couldn’t sleep after that. He held her. Held her like he would never see her again. 

The smell of roses around him.

A faint crackle from the distance.

They heard crying from the other room. Ben was awake. He probably had a bad dream. Probably knew that his father was leaving. Dean got out of bed and went through the hallway. Inside the toddler’s room, the smell of actual roses was strong, but so was distress.

Dean picked up the little rugrat and hugged him.

“Daddy, please don’t leave!”

“But I have to. We have to win.”

Somewhere he heard the crackling of a fire.

Lisa hugged him from behind.

She was warm. Warmer than normal.

“We don’t have to win, love. If you stay home you can show John that you don’t agree with him.”

He felt the fire coming closer.

“If I stay home, dad will put Dagon in charge.”

He heard her sniffling. “Please, Dean. Stay home.”

He was crying now too.

The room around him bathed in an orange glow

“Daddy, please don’t leave.”

The curtains lit on fire.

Lisa moved in front of him and kissed him.

The crib was burning.

He kissed her back.

“I love you so much.” he breathed.

Dust began to fall from the ceiling.

“Please stay, Dean”

The flames reached his feet.

“Daddy, please stay!”

He didn’t feel the scorching heat, but he felt himself crumbling.

“Stay”

“Dean”

“Please”

“Daddy”

The fire was burning them up. Burning. Burning.

 

“I’ll stay”

 

He was back in bed. They made a nest. Ben and Lisa were safe and sound in his arms.

“Dean!”

His brother? Where-?

 

Ben and Lisa were gone.

 

He saw… He saw his brother.

Where were his omega and child?

 

“Lisa?” he asked.

 

Sam had tears in his eyes and hugged him.

The hug became tighter after half a minute, when Dean started sobbing.

 

He pushed Sam away.  He just needed to go back. They were there. He needed them.

“Dean! Talk to me! Look at me!”

 He heard his brother, but the words weren’t coming in.

Why was he crying so much?

 

“I see what freaked him out.” 

Was that Bobby’s voice? Was Bobby here too?

 

Sam helped him up and to the bed. Wasn’t he already in bed? What was happening?

It smelled like scared omega.

Now everything smelled like Sam.

Family.

I’m here. Sam is okay.

 

“Sammy?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Sam smelled relieved.

“They were here.”

Silence.

“I miss them too.” And now he smelled sad. He couldn’t even help his baby brother.

 

They sat until Dean stopped shaking. Bobby and Sam helped them up.

“Let’s get yer brother outside. Fresh air might help.”

 

They helped him put on a coat and shoes. Dean didn’t talk. They didn’t ask.

Once outside they chose the path through the flowerbeds, far away from the pond and the graveyard.

They just walked and walked. After an hour Dean stopped looking at his feet.

Sam carefully began a conversation about the weather. Bobby joined in. Dean was content in listening. Just listening was easy.

He didn’t even notice when they made a turn before they reached the rosebushes.

  
  


Jess walked into the omega’s room, which was filled with a horrible smell. 

Though the vomit on the floor was the most of it, she also smelled fear, grief and a little bit of anger. It made her slip into professional mode real quick.

Anger was always a good sign with slaves. It showed that they were not fully made yet, which made recovery easier. 

She should first help him out of his vomit. Jess lifted the poor guy back onto the bed. She could still lift some stuff and the guy was way to light anyway. In her mind, she’s already making a diet plan for the man, like she would do with the people in the shelters that she had built for helping newly freed slaves get back on their feet. Sometimes their masters didn’t want to have slaves anymore, sometimes slaves were given to them. If Dean had been in the right state of mind, he would’ve sent this guy to one as well. Dean was a good guy, but he could be insensitive at times, and, ever since Lisa and Ben died, he reacted badly to omegas. Hence why Jess had suggested they should clean Dean’s room of Lisa’s smell, like they’d done with Ben’s.

 

There was a candle on the ground. She put it back into the candle holder and lit it. 

She then got her hands wet by the tap and sprinkled water in the guy’s face to wake him up. If it had been her husband she would've poked him, but she shouldn't touch the man without his permission. 

_Ask for consent as often as possible. Give him a choice._

She suddenly realized he looked vaguely familiar. 

He opened his eyes. They were unfocused for a second. 

But she had seen that shade of blue before.

“Hey, buddy. You fainted. Are you okay?”

_Be careful. Don’t use sweet pet names. Tell him what happened._

He wiped his mouth. His face cringed at the sour taste in his mouth. Jess responded by filling a cup and handing it to him.

But his hair was too dark, so maybe not?

He drank and swallowed and handed it back to her empty.

Hair dye was getting more popular though.

 

“Thank you.”

 

His voice was deep, gravelly, and suddenly she realized where she knew him from.

 

Almost 5 years ago, she and Sam had gone up to Heaven for a coming of age ball held for two of the princes. They had chatted with several people, including one of the princes older brother and sister.

Castiel and Hannah.

Jess had heard that John had stormed the palace. She had heard that he had killed every royal inside, as he already had several captured. She didn’t know what had happened to the captured ones.

But he had one of them _made_. How is she going to bring that up to Castiel?

 

“Can you stand?” she asked. 

Castiel nodded.

She maneuvered him around the vomit puddle.

“I think it might be a good plan to get you clean. Do you think you can do that by yourself?”

_Tell him what the plan is. Give him agency. Make sure he won’t blame himself._

 

He nodded again, but this time accompanied by a shiver. 

“I’m sorry.” he said.

She shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize. I’ll have someone clean that up for us.”

 

They walked out of the room together. She would take him to that fancy bathroom in Dean’s wing where the clawed bathtub was against the wall, so the poor guy wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder that much.

Halfway there -they’d just passed the great hallway that was connected to Dean’s room- she felt his eyes on her.

He froze.

Should she play innocent?

_If you don’t tell the truth now, he will never feel like he can trust you._

“Do you recognize me?” she asked.

He couldn’t nod but his eyes said yes.


End file.
